Ukraine cancels friendly against U.S.

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine have cancelled their soccer friendly against the United States in Cyprus on Wednesday, national football federation president Anatoliy Konkov said on Monday.

“We cannot hold the national championship so what kind of football can we talk of at all? If we do not have an opportunity to play on home soil, why shall we go to Cyprus in those troubled times for your country? We play for our people and country. Our team do not fly to Cyprus and stay at home,” Konkov told the ICTV channel.

The friendly, previously scheduled to take place in Kharkiv, had been moved to Cyprus because of Ukraine’s unstable political situation and requests by the U.S.

Ukraine’s Premier League also postponed the restart of the domestic championship after the mid-season break following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine’s autonomous region of Crimea.